Kerala High Court dismisses plea of transgender candidate seeking enrolment in NCC, urges Centre to take policy action
Kerala HC on NCC transgender policy: The Kerala High Court observed that there is currently no provision for enrolling transgender persons under the National Cadet Corps Act, 1948, noting the NCC follows a gender specific enrolment.
2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Nov 13, 2025 05:54 PM IST
Kerala HC on NCC transgender policy: The Kerala High Court dismissed a transgender candidate's plea citing lack of provision for enrolment in NCC as per the current policy. The image is generated using AI.
Kerala High Court transgender verdict: The Kerala High Court on Thursday held that transgender persons cannot be enrolled in the National Cadet Corps (NCC) under the current legal framework, while dismissing the plea of a 22-year-old transgender seeking enrolment in NCC.
Justice N Nagaresh, while delivering the verdict, said, “The National Cadet Corps Act, 1948 as it stands now, does not contemplate an NCC Division for Transgenders.”
However, the court remarked, “Ideally, students belonging to transgender should also get equal opportunity to get NCC training.”
It noted that NCC follows a gender specific enrolment since the training involves close contact, physical exercises/games, long and short camps, where the gender of the cadet is an important aspect for their overall ‘well-being and safety’.
A 22-year-old transgender candidate applied for enrolment in 30(K)Bn National Cadet Corps Calicut. However, his candidature was cancelled solely due to his ‘transgender’ status, despite meeting all the eligibility criteria.
The petitioner’s counsel, Dhanuja M S, argued that the rejection of candidature based on gender identity violated the fundamental rights of the candidate guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the constitution of India.
However, it was contended by the state that there is a provision to enrol boys and girls cadets only as per the existing policy.
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Justice Nagaresh noted that Section 6 of the National Cadet Corps Act, 1948 provides only for the enrolment of ‘students of the male sex’ and ‘students of the female sex’ with no provisions for transgender persons.
While directing a copy of judgment to be forwarded to the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Law and Justice to consider the issue and take necessary actions, the court said, “formation of NCC Transgender Division would require a minimum/sufficient number of Transgender students to form a separate Division. Those are matters of policy that require sufficient studies, which is the function of the Executive. Implementation of Transgender Divisions in NCC would require legislative intervention also.”
Richa Sahay is a Legal Correspondent for The Indian Express, where she focuses on simplifying the complexities of the Indian judicial system. A law postgraduate, she leverages her advanced legal education to bridge the gap between technical court rulings and public understanding, ensuring that readers stay informed about the rapidly evolving legal landscape.
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